Logan has been asking for something to store all his grilling tools in, so they were all easily accessible while he’s cooking. And since he’s been doing most of the cooking lately, I decided it was the least I could do!

This was the first time I worked with outdoor fabric, and I loved it! It was stiff enough that I didn’t have to pull out the iron (just folding the fabric over and creasing worked to hem) but my machine didn’t have any troubles getting through a couple of layers of it. Plus, Hancock Fabrics had a huge selection… which made it hard not to gravitate towards the florals that matched the deck pillows. But since it was for Logan, I opted for a blue and white stripe. Still goes with the deck design though!

I will warn you, this tutorial is a little vague, because you’ll need to customize it to work for your deck and grilling tools.

2. Hem each end of your fabric by folding up 1/2″ and then another 1/2″.

3. To make your straps, pin two of the straps right sides together. Sew the long sides together with a 1/4″ seam. Turn right side out. Fold the short ends in about 1/2″ and stitch closed. Repeat with the other strap.

4. With right sides together, fold the bottom of your main section up 13″ to create the pocket. Sew the sides. Turn the pocket right side out. This will leave 1/2″ on each side of the top unfinished. Press (or fold) that down and sew.

5. Do a trial run with your grilling tools. With pins, mark where you want to sew seams to create individual pockets for each tool. Also pin where the top of your tools are, because that will be where your flap folds over (important in step 6).

This is what your box and x will look like on the inside of your bag.

6. Attach your straps to each side. This is when you’ll have to go to your deck and decide where you’re going to hang your bag. Attach one strap to each side of your bag at the top (keep in mind that you’ll have a flap folded over your tools so don’t include this area). Sew a box with an x through it to secure the straps.

7. Attach your velcro. Put the sticky side on the end of your strap. The soft side should be on the back so the strap goes around whatever you’re securing the bag to.Funny story about my velcro experience… I had some stick-on industrial strength velcro that I thought I’d try. When it says “industrial strength” it means the sticky/soft sides connection, not the stickiness. And sticky sided velcro DOES NOT work on fabric! But I tried it anyway. And the bag fell down. Bless Logan’s heart! He said, “I don’t think the adhesive stuck all the way because of the heat. Maybe it needs more time to adhere.” Sweet boy. More like “Oops, it doesn’t always work out the way you plan!”